Friday, April 29, 2016

A Woolly Touch of France

Happy lamb


It’s been a tough week. I have been dyeing lots, organising all the clubs, packing, labelling and more and then immediately tackled the next huge task: the Vikings Adventure, which is , I am happy to say, almost all shipped to all the people who signed on to join this exciting blend filled with “Viking” sheep.

Thankfully, I have huge amounts of energy. Don’t ask me where it comes from…Paul thinks I’m an alien and just by breathing and being around fibre I “inhale energy”…It did come with a price though: I can still run a marathon-like task of dyeing, blending and carding and doing all my craft BUT there is a pressure building to get so much done in the time frame I have set myself: for the clubs, the adventures and the upcoming big shows.
 I do set myself a high bar of things to achieve and once I promise something to anybody, and that includes myself, I stick to it. Rain, hail or shine.

The strain was starting to show mentally , especially because there were a lot of things that were starting to annoy me immensely : like promises made by others but not kept, stupid comments on social media (LOL..i know..read and forget) and more stuff that in the end I have no control over.

I kept on saying to myself I have to let it go because you cannot control those kind of things but it is easier said than done. So, I felt my “fuse” getting shorter and shorter, which, I can tell you, is a bad thing for me.
As soon as I start to get a short fuse it is REALLY dangerous to be around me. I am not a violent person or a confrontational one at all but oh boy, I felt I could join the team of Marvel Super heroes to go into combat.

Lucky for me, I got some amazing parcels filled with chocolate and love from a wonderful friend Fiona and received some grounding Reiki from the awesome Felicity. I feel much calmer now and less of a danger to turn into a female version of the Hulk..lol

Without bursting into song here and start bellowing “Let it go!” at the top of my voice , it does help to just let things go you have absolutely no control over. Let it be (now THAT’s a much better song ..lol)

Anyway, here I am, it is Friday again and update day and this week, filled with Vikings and Doctor Who (the adventure and the club of April) has also been filled with something extra special just for this update today. I am offering you something new and exciting: a beautiful squishy wool for you to spin !!!

The fibre I am offering you on today’s update is not exactly from a rare sheep breed, but it is a fibre that normally is not offered to spin because it is very hard to process due to its short staplelength being a down type of fleece: Charollais.

Charollais sheep are from the same region of France as Charolais cattle. Charollais sheep can be found throughout France, with a particularly high concentration in Bourgogne, the Massif Central, Poitou-Charentes, the Limousin and the south-west.
The breed has very recently been introduced to Australia as well, in SA and NSW and also in New Zealand. The main focus however of the breeders here is on meat production and not on wool, which is a shame because the fleece is really nice to work with.

The Charollais wool is short but dense, exhibits a very nice fine crimp and takes the dye very well. It is the processing that makes all the difference though.
When you process shorter staplelengths and you overwork the carding it can result in a very messy and neppy top. As with everything slowly does it and a lot of care and love has gone into these tops on offer to you today.





For a meat breed sheep, the Charollais has unusually fine fibre. Almost square, short locks with a micron of about 21 to 28 microns. Because of the short staple , about 4 to 6 cms) your singles will be better off spun with a higher than normal twist to give them the integrity they need in a stable yarn. You can spin them in a woollen style, which is great to give it that elasticity, but a worsted style spinning gives you more control over the fineness of your single.

The Charollais is by no means a superfine merino, but I really love this down type fibre , which reminds me of Hog Island and Hampshire Down and makes soft next to skin garments from socks to jumpers and shawls.

I have prepared all the tops ready to ship but I do not have a huge quantity, since the processing takes such a loooooong time.
I can offer you the natural coloured tops OR you can opt for hand dyed semi solid tonal tops all dyed with natural dyes. The colours I can offer you are : Woad ( a beautiful tealy blue), Weld ( a gorgeous moss green), Walnut (a warm brown), Indigo Australis ( A grey blue) and Mushroom( a pastel pink colour). All these magical colours go so well together ! You can choose any colour you like or ..all of them..lol

I only have a very limited amount of Charollais tops and I will only start the dye baths after I receive your colour preferences.
The shipping of the hand dyed Charollais tops will be mid to end of May. The natural Charollais tops can be posted on Monday.

Have a fun weekend and snaffle ! All the “ how to order details” are shown at the bottom of this blog. You can always contact me on facebook or ravelry and even if you do not see something here , ask me: I am always happy to enable !

Charollais Tops   



100+gram tops AU$22

soft down type wool tops that are wonderful to spin and wear

When ordering please make sure you mention which colour option(s) you would like: Natural, Woad, Indigo, Weld, Mushroom or Walnut and the quantity of tops per colour.

Natural Charollais tops

Woad colour 

Indigo colour sample 
(dyed on another type of wool but just to give you an idea of the colour)

Dyed with Mushroom pigments


Weld dyed colour

Walnut dyed colour





Dates to put in your Calendar !!


May

Saturday May 7th   10am-3pm

Healesville Spinners and Weavers Guild Chat, Spin and Shop


Please join me with the Healesville Spinners and Weavers on Saturday for their annual celebration.
I will be doing a talk about the IxCHeLbunny farm, fibres and yarns and lots more !!! There will be fibres to cuddle (and buy) and also spindles of all shapes and sizes.

The event is open to all but everybody is asked to bring a plate of food to share with the others to make it even more fun. The Hall opens at 11am with a group meeting and my talk will start around 12. After the talk there will be ample opportunity to browse, shop and mingle.

V.C. Mullett Hall (Badger Creek Hall), 358 Badger Creek Road, Badger Creek.
The hall is located next to the Badger Creek C.F.A. Station and opposite the Badger Creek Primary School. There is off road parking.

Sunday May 29th10am-3pm

Victorian Hand Knitters Guild Show Coburg Town Hall

THE extra ordinary super fluffy yarny event in Melbourne !!!
I will be there with lots of hand dyed tops for spinning and felting and happy rainbow yarn and sock yarn, some extra special art yarns and much much more!!!!
As well as some amazing Lair of the Bearded Dragon spindles and bowls that are pure magic to spin with !

JULY

Friday July 15th- Sunday 17th, 9am-5pm


Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show
THE event of the year !!!! Not to be missed!! I will be there in the Flower (Power Bunny) Shed again with heaps of new goodies, hand dyed and hand spun, IxCHeL new blends and rare sheep breed adventures and much much more ! Including a world first of something AMAZING AND FUN!!!!! Shhh not telling ! but it is AWESOME !!!!


OCTOBER

2nd of October
Black n Coloured Sheep FIELD DAY  in Cranbourne!



Landscape dyes 

 100g tubs   AU$11 


Want to dye your own with easy to use acid dyes? I have been selling these Landscape dyes at my workshops and shows for a long time :  They are extremely easy to use and come in great shades.
Just contact me with the name of the colour you are after and I will get right back to you.


Have a creative week!
Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions okay? : Always happy to enable.

All my contact details are here:


How To Order:

1. You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or ixchelbunny at yahoo dot com dot au
2. Message me on facebook or 
3. Message me on www.ravelry.com  where I am Ixchelbunny.

I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods.


Any questions? Any custom orders for yarn or dyeing fibre? : Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.


Thank you so much for your help and support !


 RABBIT ON !
((hugs))
Charly
qrcode

Friday, April 22, 2016

When Doves Cry...

Prince by Sean Gregory Miller
(inspired by Le Petit Prince by Sain Exupery)

2016, it certainly is starting to look like the script for this year is written by George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones) : brilliant actors and musicians and all round good people are being taken away left right and centre.
I grew up hearing the songs of Prince and his “purple Rain” helped me get through some pretty horrible times. It was so much fun playing his songs too with the bands I was in, singing at the top of my lungs and playing those awesome riffs on keyboard and guitar. What a brilliant mix of funk and pop and blues and so, so  much soul. So, thank you Prince ! Your brilliant music will always live on !

Last Monday I had an amazing time at the Bushland spin in at the Grandvalley spinners. The weather was super good and sunny and the company was even better ! So thank you from the bottom of my heart Grandvalley Spinners Group for organising such a fabulous event every two years !
 It was great seeing so many friends again! It was so much fun and what makes it even better is that everybody was so enthusiastic about all the fibre there was on offer.

One of my friends who came and visited my stall (Andrea, I won’t name any names eh? Lol) told me she had a nightmare the night before that

A. I was not going to be there ! oh horror!
 B. I had no cashmere flings with me at all !! double horror ! LOL

 As it so happened , I had a great choice of fibres and blends (yes Cashmere flings were there too !)  and yarns for everybody and we all had a ball !! Thank you so much for having me and Paul there with his fantastic spindles and handturned bowls.

I have heard from a lot of people that this week has been  a bit of a bummer and they need some cheering up , so what better to offer you than some Flings?? Cashmere flings to be precise !

This blend of cashmere and lots of silky smooth fibres makes these tops spin like butter and is just about the best thing since sliced bread somebody has told me , so there ya go ..lol

Here’s hoping that the rest of the month ( and the year) is a lot less stressful and is kind to everybody!
Have a fun weekend and snaffle ! All the “ how to order details” are shown at the bottom of this blog. You can always contact me on facebook or ravelry and even if you do not see something here , ask me: I am always happy to enable !

Cashmere Fling Tops   

Cashmere, Tencel, Glitz, Bamboo

100+gram tops AU$23

Super soft, spins like butter ! and fabulous to wear : feels like a big hug ;-)




When Doves Cry-sold-


Sign of the Times-sold-


Purple Rain-sold-



Party Man-sold-


Mountains-sold-


Money Don’t Matter 2Night-sold-


Let’s Go Crazy-sold-



Kiss-sold-


Get Off-sold-


Diamonds and Pearls-sold-

Delirious-sold-




Batdance-sold-

Arms of Orion-sold-




Dates to put in your Calendar !!


May

Saturday May 7th10am-3pm

Healesville Spinners and Weavers Guild Chat, Spin and Shop


Please join me with the Healesville Spinners and Weavers on Saturday for their annual celebration.
I will be doing a talk about the IxCHeLbunny farm, fibres and yarns and lots more !!! There will be fibres to cuddle (and buy) and also spindles of all shapes and sizes.

The event is open to all but everybody is asked to bring a plate of food to share with the others to make it even more fun. The Hall opens at 11am with a group meeting and my talk will start around 12. After the talk there will be ample opportunity to browse, shop and mingle.

V.C. Mullett Hall (Badger Creek Hall), 358 Badger Creek Road, Badger Creek.
The hall is located next to the Badger Creek C.F.A. Station and opposite the Badger Creek Primary School. There is off road parking.

Sunday May 29th10am-3pm

Victorian Hand Knitters Guild Show Coburg Town Hall

THE extra ordinary super fluffy yarny event in Melbourne !!!
I will be there with lots of hand dyed tops for spinning and felting and happy rainbow yarn and sock yarn, some extra special art yarns and much much more!!!!
As well as some amazing Lair of the Bearded Dragon spindles and bowls that are pure magic to spin with !

JULY

Friday July 15th- Sunday 17th, 9am-5pm


Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show
THE event of the year !!!! Not to be missed!! I will be there in the Flower (Power Bunny) Shed again with heaps of new goodies, hand dyed and hand spun, IxCHeL new blends and rare sheep breed adventures and much much more ! Including a world first of something AMAZING AND FUN!!!!! Shhh not telling ! but it is AWESOME !!!!


OCTOBER

2nd of October
Black n Coloured Sheep FIELD DAY  in Cranbourne!



Landscape dyes 

 100g tubs   AU$11 


Want to dye your own with easy to use acid dyes? I have been selling these Landscape dyes at my workshops and shows for a long time :  They are extremely easy to use and come in great shades.
Just contact me with the name of the colour you are after and I will get right back to you.


Have a creative week!
Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions okay? : Always happy to enable.

All my contact details are here:


How To Order:

1. You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or ixchelbunny at yahoo dot com dot au
2. Message me on facebook or 
3. Message me on www.ravelry.com  where I am Ixchelbunny.

I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods.


Any questions? Any custom orders for yarn or dyeing fibre? : Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.


Thank you so much for your help and support !


 RABBIT ON !
((hugs))
Charly
qrcode

Friday, April 15, 2016

Like the White Rabbit from Wonderland


Castlemilk Moorit Sheep
(photo:RBST Caledonian Support Group)
First of all : Last week’s demand for the Autumn Shearing of Icelandic tops was , to say the least, very overwhelming! 
The mid grey and the blend I had on offer sold out in matter of minutes and I felt extremely bad having to say “no” to so many people. 
That is why I have been working very hard to try and make some more Icelandic of the autumn shearing coming my way! 
It will take a bit of time for me to get it all done and dusted so to speak, but If you like, I can put you on the list for Autumn shearing Icelandic in natural white and grey. 
I cannot guarantee it will be the same mid grey I had before and slight tonal differences may occur because of the fact it is a different herd and there are so many different greys. Have a read of last week’s blog to see all the details and info again and just message or email me with your request of either white or grey (or both) and the desired quantity. I will obviously only have a limited quantity available again and I don’t think I can get my hands on more this year.

Now….You may not be aware of the following: I have been working very very hard to prepare not only for all the clubs, the rare sheep breed adventures like Frida and Outlander, but also dyeing up a storm for the upcoming shows and spin ins, this coming Monday at the Montrose Spin in being the first in many events I will be offering lots and lots of goodies. 
 I have been trying to keep up with all the custom orders as well and the handspinning of numerous skeins of yarn for the upcoming handknitters guild show in May. 
 In short: for the last many weeks, I have been either chained to the dye room, my studio, spinning wheel and computer to get as much done as possible. If I do go away from the farm, it is to do the mailing out of the parcels.. once a week… that’s it. 
Now being a pretty , yes tell me you don’t believe me…lol, introverted person (you can stop laughing now..lol) and being pretty used to a solitary kind of living , I can cope with being in my own company and that of the animals and Paul of course. The pressure of trying to get a huge amount of work done in a limited amount of time without any down time is , however, starting to show: I have not been well for months now, my “cold” doesn’t seem to go away and I feel tiny cracks starting to show in my normal calmness…..I need to breathe. 
Unfortunately, time off is a no no for the simple reason that when you are self-employed with animals to take care of, your boss (meaning: me, myself and I) , time out is a bit hard to organise (animals) and afford. 

The other thing is something I have been battling my whole life: self doubt (the “am I good enough”, can I do it) In short: the mental thing all craft people/artists deal with on a day to day basis. Normally I can pick myself up and smile in a relatively short time, but now, especially when not feeling a 100%, that "springing back" and getting on with it is a bit slower than usual. But hey, what to do? That’s right: keep swimming..lol…so I do and I have to admit it helps so , so much that everything what I do from early in the morning until I go to bed, is something that I happily pour my heart and soul into. It is hard but at the same time it is so much easier than having a “real job” if you know what i mean. As always, the fibres slipping through my fingers onto to the bobbin on my wheel help me centre, feeling the fibres, preparing the dye pots, centering on the NOW and not on the mountain of work that still needs to be done, the fun messages from fibre friends(YOU); THAT is what saves me: Wool, Fibres, the quest for rare fluff, the adventure, all the people who I consider to be part of my “tribe” in the fibre community with their passion and love for what they are doing, they save me. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the fact that you take time out to read my blogs, give the fibres good homes and are passionate about your craft. And every now and again, when I dig a hole for myself trying to do too much, or stress myself out by stupid thoughts and deadlines or the pressure gets to me, I know I just have to take a breath, sit down at my wheel and let the spinning centre me and calm me down. NO doubt, I will always be a bit like the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, looking at his watch and yelling out “I’m late! I’m Late !” , but I won’t be turning into the Mad Hatter soon though..lol..if I do, You are all invited to the tea party !

For tonight’s blog :Castlemilk Moorit sheep and don’t forget : if you like some Icelandic white tops or grey tops, message me on Facebook, Ravelry (where I am ixchelbunny) or email me : ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au. I will try and message or email you right back, but please know that after the blog goes live there is an avalanche of messages and emails hopping my way. Remember that I always look at the time stamp of the messages: so it is a first come first serve. Have a fun read and enjoy tonight’s fluffy offerings ! 
 Big hugs, 
Charly



Castlemilk Moorit Sheep

Castlemilk Moorit sheep are the cutest most feisty little things. The Castlemilk Moorit sheep breed take their name from the Castlemilk estate in Dumfriesshire, where they originated in the early 1900s. They were originally bred to provide meat, wool to make clothing for the estate workers, and also to prance around the parklands of the estate. They are graceful, elegant sheep with fine, kemp-free wool, which is mid honey brown (moorit is a Scottish word for brown) at the base and bleached to a fawn colour at the tips.

Castlemilk Moorit sheep have some Manx Loghtan sheep and mouflon sheep breed ancestry and have retained the interesting mouflon markings of white underbelly, lower jaw, knee, eye markings (‘spectacles’) and a white rump patch. They are also feisty and pretty fast! 

Once clipped they look totally different – almost like deer – as they revert to the dark brown colour for a few weeks, until the growing fleece bleaches back to fawn at the tips. At one point in the early 1970s Castlemilk Moorits were reduced to only around 12 individuals and could easily have simply ‘disappeared’. However, those few remaining were rescued in two groups, including six ewes and two rams which were taken to Cotswold Farm Park. All of today’s Castlemilks, which include around 700 registered females, are descended from these two small groups.
In the past couple of years the breed has been downlisted from the ‘Endangered’ to the ‘Vulnerable” category on the RBST watchlist – a big success.


Cute Castlemilk Moorit lambs
4th barrier island from the top right of the picture
lambs with their mum


As with everything the way that you scour and process the fibre is very important. The fleece of the castlemilk moorit ranges from 28 to 32 microns and the staple length is about 6 cms. The outer edges of the staple are often bleached by the sun and the locks often have a pointy tip. I find it very easy to spin. It reminds me of Manx Loughtan but definitely finer and softer. It is not that easy to get hold of this quality fibre so I only have a limited amount, but it is oh so worth it !















Have a fun snaffle !!!

Warning : There is only a very limited quantity available.


Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions okay? Always happy to enable. All my contact details are to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry. Have fun !!!

Castlemilk Moorit Sheep Tops   

100+gram tops, Natural AU$23









Dates to put in your Calendar !!

April 18th

Monday 10am-2pm


Grandvalley Spinners and Weavers Spin in
Tapscott Hall, Corner Cambridge and Montrose rd, Montrose


May

Saturday May 7th10am-3pmHealesville Spinners and Weavers Guild Chat, Spin and Shop


Please join me with the Healesville Spinners and Weavers on Saturday for their annual celebration.
I will be doing a talk about the IxCHeLbunny farm, fibres and yarns and lots more !!! There will be fibres to cuddle (and buy) and also spindles of all shapes and sizes.

The event is open to all but everybody is asked to bring a plate of food to share with the others to make it even more fun. The Hall opens at 11am with a group meeting and my talk will start around 12. After the talk there will be ample opportunity to browse, shop and mingle.

V.C. Mullett Hall (Badger Creek Hall), 358 Badger Creek Road, Badger Creek.
The hall is located next to the Badger Creek C.F.A. Station and opposite the Badger Creek Primary School. There is off road parking.

Sunday May 29th10am-3pmVictorian Hand Knitters Guild Show Coburg Town Hall

THE extra ordinary super fluffy yarny event in Melbourne !!!
I will be there with lots of hand dyed tops for spinning and felting and happy rainbow yarn and sock yarn, some extra special art yarns and much much more!!!!
As well as some amazing Lair of the Bearded Dragon spindles and bowls that are pure magic to spin with !

JULY

Friday July 15th- Sunday 17th, 9am-5pm


Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show
THE event of the year !!!! Not to be missed!! I will be there in the Flower (Power Bunny) Shed again with heaps of new goodies, hand dyed and hand spun, IxCHeL new blends and rare sheep breed adventures and much much more ! Including a world first of something AMAZING AND FUN!!!!! Shhh not telling ! but it is AWESOME !!!!


OCTOBER

2nd of October
Black n Coloured Sheep FIELD DAY  in Cranbourne!



Landscape dyes 

 100g tubs   AU$11 


Want to dye your own with easy to use acid dyes? I have been selling these Landscape dyes at my workshops and shows for a long time :  They are extremely easy to use and come in great shades.
Just contact me with the name of the colour you are after and I will get right back to you.


Have a creative week!
Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions okay? : Always happy to enable.

All my contact details are here:


How To Order:

1. You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or ixchelbunny at yahoo dot com dot au
2. Message me on facebook or 
3. Message me on www.ravelry.com  where I am Ixchelbunny.

I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods.


Any questions? Any custom orders for yarn or dyeing fibre? : Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.


Thank you so much for your help and support !


 RABBIT ON !
((hugs))
Charly
qrcode